


The Essence of Soulmates

by thestanceyg



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Prompt Fic, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-17
Updated: 2016-09-17
Packaged: 2018-08-15 11:09:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8054026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thestanceyg/pseuds/thestanceyg
Summary: FIC GIVEAWAY WINNER PROMPT:  Darcy/Clint soulmate identifying marks: Darcy had always been interested in jade and it started because of the words on her *you choose where* saying "Is it true that jade is just dried dragon sperm?" She had a smart ass response ready for it.





	The Essence of Soulmates

**Author's Note:**

  * For [weaverofhopes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/weaverofhopes/gifts).



Nearly a decade ago, scientists had determined that the appearance of soulmarks was a shift in evolution.  These marks came from a bit of genetic coding that had been unlocked.  However, just because science had explained it, didn’t mean that people agreed with science.  In the twenty years prior to the breakthrough explaining the soulmark, religious groups had done their best to explain the phenomena.  In a tiny rural town in South Dakota, one such group had become a leader in spiritual mark explanation by positing that these marks helped determine if the match was one of faith or one of sin.  Since only about 15% of the population had marks at that time, those with marks didn’t get much say in how their marks were interpreted.  One would think that being born with a mark ten years after science unlocked its genetic secrets would mean that Darcy Olivia Lewis wouldn’t be subject to such superstitious beliefs.  But that tiny South Dakota town had doubled down on their beliefs after the scientific announcement, and it was there that Darcy was born.

***

On the day Darcy Olivia Lewis was born, her parents were overjoyed to see a swirl of black writing on their tiny daughter’s perfect little back.  Not everyone had soulmarks, and those that did were not always born with them.  Science had some recent breakthroughs with explaining the phenomenon, but many followed the beliefs of their religious orders which saw marks as objects of worship and sin in turn.  Michael and Lorraine Lewis did not have soulmarks, and in their tiny town, a mark was a ticket to a better life.  Relief flooded them as they realized their daughter would have a better life than they would.

Much later, Michael looked down at his beautiful daughter’s lower back to trace the words that marked her as chosen for just one other.  As he reverently traced his finger over her mark, marveling at how it felt warm to his touch, he read the words given to her and suddenly was dismayed.

“Lor?” He softly called to his wife, trying not to wake the baby.

“Yes?”

“We can never let anyone know that Darcy is marked.  If we’re lucky, it will be many years before she even realizes it.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Her mark….,” he said, trying to figure out how to break the news to his wife.  “Her mark is not one of faith, but one of sin.”

Lorraine gasped.  “No!” She whispered harshly.  “How could we make a daughter of sin?”

Michael shook his head.  “I don’t know, but her mark will be difficult for her to see, so perhaps we can save her from this life yet.”

Lorraine bowed her head and prayed over their daughter.  They would overcome this.

***

Those born with marks that were believed to be of faith rose in the community and became powerful.  Those with marks of sin were denigrated and shamed.  With a mark holding the word “sperm,” Darcy’s fate was sealed before she could even comprehend what was happening.

***

Getting out of South Dakota had been her number one goal, so when Culver offered her a large scholarship, she packed her bags with all her worldly possessions and vowed to never step foot in South Dakota ever again.  Culver had been a revelation.  While she kept her mark private, people there were a lot more open about the concept.  The science classes often used the advancement in understanding soulmarks as part of the curriculum since one of the leading soulmark scholars was a professor there.

Darcy avoided science like the plague.  Her soulmark had made her life miserable, and she didn’t want to sit in a class where it was discussed benignly like one might discuss furniture.  Furniture had never hurt her as much as those words did.  But eventually she realized she wouldn’t be able to graduate because she didn’t have those science credits.  An internship in the desert studying the stars seemed like the furthest she would be able to get from discussion about marks, so she packed her bags and headed west.

She couldn’t have been more wrong about the desert being safe from marks.

***

Life with Jane was a pinball from exciting to boring to intense, but it was blessedly free of any soulmark discussion.  Jane never asked why, even in the midday desert heat, Darcy would be careful to be fully covered.  She had shed a lot of things from her past, but the need to cove her mark was one thing she couldn’t let go.  She always wore oversized shirts to make sure that he lower back would never be exposed even when bending or sitting.  Jane had simply said, “I’m not taking care of you if you get heatstroke,” and left it at that.

But then Thor came and everything changed.

***

“Lady Darcy, I see in you a romantic heart.  Why do you cover the outward appearance of your love?”

“Huh?” Darcy asked.

“Do you have a soulmark?” Jane asked, much better at interpreting Thor than Darcy was.

“Uh, yes?”

“I didn’t know that,” Jane said with a touch of sadness.  “I’m sorry you felt like you couldn’t tell me.”

“I’m, uh, from South Dakota,” Darcy said.

“Oh,” Jane said, understanding dawning on her.  “And when you say South Dakota….”

“I mean that exact town,” Darcy said dejectedly.

Jane swept her up in a hug.  “I’m sorry honey,” she whispered in her friend’s ear.  “But I will never judge you, all right?  Look at mine,” she said pulling back and dropping her shirt off her shoulder.

“Is that a rune?” Darcy asked, taking in the large mark on Jane’s shoulder.

“Yes,” Jane said.  “Most people weren’t sure if it was a soulmark at all.  There’s a reason I study the stars.  It’s pretty far from markology.”

Darcy turned around and lifted her shirt so Thor and Jane could see the words scrawled on her lower back.

“Is that why you have Fredrico?” Jane asked when Darcy lowered her shirt.

“Yeah,” Darcy admitted.  “I can’t afford anything made of it, so I thought a little jade plant in a meditation garden might make me feel more positive about the whole thing.  I will say, though, I’ve done a lot of research, and I know exactly how I’m going to respond to this idiot when we finally meet.”

“Darcy, you’re already off to a bad start if you think your soulmate is an idiot,” Jane sighed.

“Yeah, well, my life wasn’t easy with his words, so hopefully mine have made his life a pain in the ass too,” she said as she wandered over to the desk where Fredrico used to sit.

“I’m sure he’ll be back today with the rest of the equipment.  Agent Coulson promised everything would be returned.”

“I don’t get why my zen garden as considered part of your science,” Darcy grumbled.

“Because we had to make sure you didn’t hide anything in it,” Coulson said, handing over Fredrico.

Darcy took the small succulent from Coulson and started petting him and whispering how much she had missed him.

“Is that jade?” A man asked, “Because I read that the ancient Chinese thought jade was the sperm of dragons.”

Darcy’s head shot up in shock.  “What is it with guys thinking their spunk is the essence of life?” She asked him.  “It’s a mistranslation.  ‘essence’ and ‘sperm’ have very similar characters, but I think it says a lot about dudes.”

The man stared at her.  “Do you know how many girlfriends laughed at me for your words?” He asked.

“Do you know what it was like growing up in a tiny religious town with the word ‘sperm’ in yours?”

"Well is yours right above said spunk maker?" He countered.

"No, it's more of a tramp stamp," she spit back, though there wasn't a whole lot of venom.  He was feisty and she liked it.

“Clint Barton,” he said, holding out his hand.

“Darcy Lewis,” she said taking his hand.  Instead of shaking, he turned her hand and kissed it.  “And you have a lot to make up for," she said with a raise eyebrow.

“Sir?” Clint asked, looking over at Coulson who was shaking his head.

“Go,” he said, waving a hand.

“I know a place with good coffee and great pie,” Darcy said, pulling him along by the hand.  “You’re paying.”

“Yes ma’am,” Clint said with a goofy smile as he let himself be led away.  "I think I'll be paying for quite a while."

"I don't think you're going to mind," she said with a wink.

**Author's Note:**

> I had never heard the sperm thing before, so I did a little research and used this reddit page for my basis: https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/u86cj/til_ancient_china_believed_jade_was_dried_dragon/


End file.
